Chopin in Birkenau

Chopin in Birkenau

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There were 11 inmate orchestras operating in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

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There were 11 inmate orchestras operating in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Their main purpose was to play marches while the work teams were marching out to work and returning to the camp. Their number included the women’s band set up in 1943, one of whose conductors was a violinist of the highest standard, Alma Rosé. Although works by Polish and Jewish composers were forbidden, exceptional situations did occur when their music was also played.
This CD is the reconstruction of a piece orchestrated by Alma Rosé in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944, and performed by the orchestra she conducted. The transcript of the piece by Chopin was an initiative of Helena Dunicz-Niwińska, a former member of the women’s orchestra in the camp.